Celebrity Constellation Delayed in Barcelona

Celebrity Cruises passengers intending to depart yesterday on the Celebrity Constellation from Barcelona, Spain are stuck in that port for two days due to propulsion issues, even though the cruise ship just came out of dry dock.

During the recent two week dry dock, two new restaurants were constructed and certain suites were refurbished. The software on the ship which manages the turbines and propulsion systems was also upgraded. But shortly after departure from the dry dock facility in Marseilles, France, the Constellation experienced problems with her speed.

The Constellation was scheduled to sail to Monaco, (where the Grand Prix is occurring) and Villefranche. Instead, the cruise ship will sail Genoa and then resume her itinerary.

Popular cruise media sites are reporting that Celebrity promised to accommodate passengers and pay for meals while they stay in Barcelona over this Memorial day weekend as the Constellation is being repaired. Celebrity Cruises has also promised to provide onboard credit of an undisclosed amount for the missed ports.

Celebrity posted a Facebook message yesterday which reads: "We regret that we have had to delay the departure of Celebrity Constellation, due to depart on 26th May 2017 from Barcelona. Because we need to resolve an unforeseen technical challenge related to the software that manages the ship’s propulsion, boarding for the cruise will be delayed by two days. Constellation will now depart Barcelona, Spain on Sunday, the 28th May."

Since that time, many Guests expressed frustration on social media due to the lack of updates from Celebrity. Many people asked why they could not simply board the ship and stay in their paid-for cabins rather than experience confusion and delay looking for hotel rooms ashore. One answer may be that the ship is experiencing limited electric power generated from her engines, or that the ship may have to shut down her power system in order to perform the necessary repairs. Either way, this raises the issue whether this is simply a minor problem with the software.

Cruise line often characterize power losses and profusion problems like this as "technical issues."

the cruise line did a fantastic job with handling the problem.
Not having ever a problem like that in 12 years.
Well done

g lloyd

Celebrity constellation Barcelona, delayed sailing, 26th of May, NOT everyone was treated well on this cruise, we booked the cruise specifically for the Monaco Grandprix and were only informed of the cancellation/Delay at 10:25 am on the 26th of June and I can CATEGORICALLY assure you, that there were no Celebrity personnel at the cruise terminal, we were put on to a coach expecting to be taken to a 4/5 start hotel in barcelona only to end up 1 hr 45 mins later in Portaventura a theme park in Salou! some 130 kilometres from barcelona!! a total dump, mouldy damp room ,disgusting food not very clean water in the pools,and no representatives from Celebrity at the hotel until the Saturday night around 8:30 and he made out he was doing us a favour by coming to see us and they did not get us to the grand prix as there arrangements were a complete shambles as was the way the hotels were allocated, even though they knew we were registered to go to the grand prix, they knew they had issues with the ship at around 5pm wednesday the 23rd of May ,How a company the size of celebrity and the the whole group could not organise a drinking party in a brewery is beyond comprehension. They still have not written to me to apologize for ruining our holiday and now they are telling me that they will not be offering any more than the $700 pro rata loss of 2 days cruise! and the $600 , both as on board spend ! A Very clever way of making up the money that they lost over the 2 and a half days at the bars casino and excursions desk etc !!! and a refund of my grand prix ticket and the cost of some incidental expenses. There communication is appalling. I have been told that an American travel agent has secured full refunds for their guests and future cruise compensation!!!!!! The ship considering it had spent 2 weeks in dry dock was a mess poorly maintained, very bad pa system, which I did not consider to be safe, two fires on board during our cruise, constantly faulty air conditioning, flickering lights, poor quality food and service, a huge party of 800 apparently single, spanish speaking group, who had won a competition, not something you would expect on a celebrity cruise maybe a carnival cruise yes, extortionate internet charges $400 for the 10 days! poor quality entertainment, the two new specialty restaurants were not up to scratch especially the tuscan grill where the food and service was awful, they thought it was ok to just offer a refund, cruising for me is all about a pleasant stressless experience, i have been on two previous celebrity cruises and have another two booked!! After the second fire on board i hardly slept for the rest of the cruise. The UK office does not get it!! they have ruined our holiday, the grand prix experience that we paid a premium for did not happen and when on board the ship was not in good condition and there where around half of the crew who seemed very unhappy. Unfortunately the guest relations team had their hands behind there back and none of the head office directors etc made themselves available on board and no one approached us to ask us about our experiences. A TOTAL LET DOWN. A TOTAL MESS. if some people have had refunds everyone should have refunds not them that shout the loudest. without prejudice.

Steve Frost

My wife and I were on the Constellation that was delayed in Barcelona, we too had expensive Grand Prix tickets booked as a present, although Celebrtity did fly us there, it was so rushed that we missed out on the whole experience. We arrived just before the race and were put on a coach straight after to Genoa. The communication between Celebrtity and their customers was dreadful, we spent a fortune phoning America for updates, and have now been told that they will not refund the cost of the calls, or for train tickets that we had purchased, but could not use because of the delay. The compensation given maybe fine for those who enjoyed two days in Barcelona, but for those who had made arrangements around the cruise itinerary, it is pathetic. I agree a refund or a great offer on another cruise is the least Celebrtity can offer after this debacle. Keep pushing them, it is not good enough, we paid for a 10 day cruise and got a 7 day cruise !!!

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Cruise ship accidents, injuries, crimes, disappearances, fires, and collisions on the high seas involve issues of maritime law. Jim Walker graduated from law school in 1983 and has been handling maritime law cases for the past thirty-five years. He handles a wide variety of cases from serious injuries to the highest profile sexual assault and cruise crime cases.